Members of Soroptimist International of Santa Clarita Valley recently delivered 25 comfort bags to the Shiela R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center on the campus of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia.

Soroptimist International of Santa Clarita Valley was selected to receive a $6,000 2012-2013 Soroptimist Club Grant for Women and Girls from Soroptimist International of the Americas.

The grant was awarded in support of the club’s Comforts During Breast Cancer project.

The Comforts During Breast Cancer project enhances the collaborative efforts of Soroptimist International of SCV with the Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center in its mission to provide diagnostic excellence in a warm and caring environment through the provision of comfort bags to women with newly diagnosed breast cancer.

The grant conveys to 100 women with breast cancer that it is acceptable and possible to be pampered, provide an avenue to do so, and establish this project as a sustainable signature club project for Soroptimist International of SCV.

The first 25 of 100 comfort bags deliver to the Veloz Breast Imaging Center contained a knitted beanie, pashmina shawl, personal journal, cozy socks, skin lotion, lip gloss, foot balm, shower gel, breast cancer bracelet, breast cancer pin, aromatherapy candle, healing book, a personal note of encouragement hand written by the members of Soroptimist International of SCV and a gift certificate for a service in the community.

If you would like to make a service donation for these invaluable comfort bags, contact Sandy Mintz at 661-993-4031.

Founded in 1921 in Oakland, Soroptimist is an international non-profit organization for business and professional women who provide volunteer service to their communities.

Almost 90,000 Soroptimists in about 125 countries and territories contribute time and financial support to community-based and international projects benefiting women and girls.

The name, Soroptimist, means “best for women,” and that is what the organization strives to achieve. Soroptimists are women at their best working to help other women to be their best.

The Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center is a non-profit diagnostic facility created through the experiences of breast cancer survivors, patients and their families.

The center is designated by the American College of Radiology as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence and is designed with each woman’s physical and emotional needs in mind. Their goal is to improve access to breast imaging services in the Santa Clarita Valley by making it easier for women to have their annual mammograms and to reduce the anxiety associated with breast cancer detection.

For general or membership information about the Soroptimist International of SCV club contact Cyndi Diaz, President at 661-250-9212 and/or visit www.siscv.com.